Vertical Organic Thin-Film Transistors with an Anodized Permeable Base for Very Low Leakage Current

The organic permeable base transistor (OPBT) is currently the fastest organic transistor with a transition frequency of 40 MHz. It relies on a thin aluminum base electrode to control the transistor current. This electrode is surrounded by a native oxide layer for passivation, currently created by oxidation in air. However, this process is not reliable and leads to large performance variations between samples, slow production, and relatively high leakage currents. Here, for the first time it is demonstrated that electrochemical anodization can be conveniently employed for the fabrication of high-performance OPBTs with vastly reduced leakage currents and more controlled process parameters. Very large transmission factors of 99.9996 % are achieved, while excellent on/off ratios of 5 × 10⁵ and high on-currents greater than 300 mA cm⁻² show that the C₆₀ semiconductor layer can withstand the electrochemical anodization. These results make anodization an intriguing option for innovative organic transistor design.